Selected goods, and in particular food items such as olives, pickles and cherries, are stored in a container submerged in brine or another appropriate fluid. Access to the food items is provided through the top of the container and involves “fishing” the individual food items out of the fluid, either manually or utilizing an instrument such as a fork, of which both create various problems (e.g. sanitary and convenience issues).
A common solution to the dispensing of food items from deep liquid-containers has been to provide a vertically-movable insert within the container which elevates the food items to an open upper mouth of the container. Examples of such devices are taught by Callery, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,904,205 (hereinafter Callery '205); by McKee, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,249,250 (hereinafter McKee '250); by Arnold, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,380,592 (hereinafter Arnold '592); and by Bateman et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,179,040 (hereinafter Bateman '040). In all embodiments, the movable member can rotate 360° about the retainer, and can be set at any desired angle.
In Bateman '040, the insert has a handle which cooperates with guide means within the container to maintain proper alignment of the tray as the insert is moved. The handle projects above the container for ready access thereto.
The inserts taught in Callery '205, McKee '250, and Arnold '592 have handles at or below the top of the container, and require removal of some of the foodstuff, as suggested in McKee '250, before convenient access to the handle is possible. McKee '250 also includes a sliding lock which is indicated as being slidable along the stem of the lifting device, and hooking over the upper rim of the container to hold the device at any desired location. McKee '250 does not explain how the lock is accommodated within the container when not actually engaged with the rim.
Another solution is taught by Decoster, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,082,135 (hereinafter Decoster '135), which provides another receptacle with vertically-extending internal guide-ribs which terminate in upper support shoulders in a downwardly-spaced relation to the open upper end of the receptacle. An insert is mounted for vertical sliding within the receptacle, and includes a bottom tray having recesses at peripherally-spaced points thereabout, corresponding to the position of the guide ribs. The recesses complement the ribs to enable a vertical non-rotational guiding of the insert. The tray, above the shoulders, rotates to seat on the shoulders.
The term “tubular form” as used herein refers to an object having the form of a tube, shaped like a pipe, hollow, but not necessarily cylindrical.